Guns N’ Roses Welcome CNY To The Jungle What To Expect

Guns N' Roses announced their 2023 North American Tour today. They will be starting off in Canada and swinging south of the border to us United States fans before heading back to the great white north to end the tour in Vancouver. Before it is said and done, they will be making a very special stop here in central New York.

The band will be playing one amphitheater show. One. That's It. Just one. And it is for us here in New York. Saratoga Springs will be host to the Gunners on September 1st at SPAC. The first time they have played there since 1991. So, should you go?

As a veteran of many a Guns N roses concert, I can tell you I will not miss this show. I may be hitting a few more through the tour. I have seen the band 10 times so far, and i know to join the fan club to get the presale seats. A GNR concert is one of my many happy places.

I first saw them in 2002. The lineup at that time consisted of players like Buckethead and Robin Finck joining frontman Axl Rose. I had been a fan of the band for years since I was a kid and this was my first chance to see them. I loved every minute of the show. It was weird with the lineup being as it was and may have included a nunchuck solo, but it was the songs I wanted to hear sung by the man who is the only one qualified to sing them.

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Nine years later, I would see them in Nashville. Gone was Buckethead, as Bumblefoot stood in his place. DJ Ashba, who had a stellar outing as guitarist for Beautiful Creatures, took over for Finck and I can tell you there was a magic to this lineup. I saw them 5 more times over the next 4 years and was never less than blown away by how good this band was. That night in Nashville saw the return of "Civil War" to the setlist.

Then there were the Vegas residencies. Appetite for Democracy and No Trickery were great reasons to be out in Las Vegas to see the band in a smaller venue. Nicholas Cage randomly showed up to introduce the band one night. Duff McKagan showed up and played one of the No Trickery shows when then-current Bassist Tommy Stinson had a prior commitment. This was of course a taste of what was to come.

The Not In This Lifetime announcement happened and signaled the return of Slash and Duff to the band and the stadiums would be packed for fans to see the band that had evolved many times over the years, take one more step forward by bringing the familiar back in the fold. I was there In Nashville when Steven Adler joined the band for 2 songs, bringing 4/5 of the Appetite era band together on one stage.

My most recent time seeing them was in Columbus Ohio in 2021. It was the night before they were to release the single "Hard Skool" and I was so sure they would play it for us. Boy, was I wrong. But we did end up getting the return of "Coma" and "Shadow of Your Love" so who am I to complain?

I will never not attend a Guns N' Roses tour. This 2023 jaunt is no exception. See you down front. I will be the guy pumping my fist and singing along to every Chinese democracy song and throwing up my middle finger during "It's So Easy" during that one line. You know what it is. You'll see me standing there, thinking I'm so cool. Then you will be thinking, why don't I just....